What Inspired You To Become Vegan

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NekaMaye88
NekaMaye88 Posts: 162 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My inspirations?

Being completely unsatisfied with the way I was eating before. Listening to lectures about veganism. Learning more about it from friends, books, documentaries, and articles. My love for animals. Living in Austin, TX for 4 years. :)

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  • chel325
    chel325 Posts: 199 Member
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    For me it was realizing milk and dairy are for young babies and calves for them to gain weight rapidly. It is not meant for us to drink cow breast milk.
  • srichardallen
    srichardallen Posts: 20 Member
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    For me it was realizing milk and dairy are for young babies and calves for them to gain weight rapidly. It is not meant for us to drink cow breast milk.

    This. Plus I watched documentaries on Netflix and started reading up on veganism (Eating Animals). I couldn't consciously go back to eating meat or dairy after reading about factory farming methods. There were facts and tidbits of information taken from the documentaries and books that I couldn't get out of my head, such as deformed and diseased chickens being genetically modified to have quicker reproductive cycles to produce more eggs or the essential rape (via artificial insemination) of cows to lactate and produce produce milk/cheese/dairy products. End soapbox here. :]
  • AnnaMarieDinVa
    AnnaMarieDinVa Posts: 162 Member
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    For me it was realizing milk and dairy are for young babies and calves for them to gain weight rapidly. It is not meant for us to drink cow breast milk.

    This. Plus I watched documentaries on Netflix and started reading up on veganism (Eating Animals). I couldn't consciously go back to eating meat or dairy after reading about factory farming methods. There were facts and tidbits of information taken from the documentaries and books that I couldn't get out of my head, such as deformed and diseased chickens being genetically modified to have quicker reproductive cycles to produce more eggs or the essential rape (via artificial insemination) of cows to lactate and produce produce milk/cheese/dairy products. End soapbox here. :]

    This!! And now, I am really into vegan foods. They are so tasty!
  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 10,145 MFP Staff
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  • NekaMaye88
    NekaMaye88 Posts: 162 Member
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    For me it was realizing milk and dairy are for young babies and calves for them to gain weight rapidly. It is not meant for us to drink cow breast milk.

    This. Plus I watched documentaries on Netflix and started reading up on veganism (Eating Animals). I couldn't consciously go back to eating meat or dairy after reading about factory farming methods. There were facts and tidbits of information taken from the documentaries and books that I couldn't get out of my head, such as deformed and diseased chickens being genetically modified to have quicker reproductive cycles to produce more eggs or the essential rape (via artificial insemination) of cows to lactate and produce produce milk/cheese/dairy products. End soapbox here. :]

    This!! And now, I am really into vegan foods. They are so tasty!

    I agree! :smile:
  • curlytoes79
    curlytoes79 Posts: 95 Member
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    For me, it was totally about animal welfare and had nothing to do with health. In fact, I was concerned I wouldn't be able to get all my vitamins, etc. It's been about 7 years now and I've learned to eat a pretty balanced diet, but my weight has yo-yo'ed because I've got a serious sweet tooth and there is a buffet of vegan junk food out there!
  • cactuswax
    cactuswax Posts: 77 Member
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    There were several things for me..

    • There is no justifiable or logical reason for humans to eat other creatures. it's not necessary to exist, be healthy or feel satiated.
    • Dairy is unnecessary based on all my reading and experimenting (plus i used to have chronic acid reflux and this ended when i quit)
    • Reading - books like Omnivore's Dilemma' by michael pollen, 'eating animals' by jonathan safron-foer, 'Food Inc', Fast Food Nation, Forks Over Knives... all reinforce the mass damage the industry does to our planet. Animals are tortured and treated like products, not living things.
    • Working for a natural grocer... I had direct access to learning things about healthy eating, sampling natural products etc. It made it all feel so much more accessible when initially it can feel overwhelming to give up meat. It's one tiny part of our food system, people! And not really that tasty in comparison...

    Beyond that... it's just more fun to be creative with the rest of the spectrum. I like the circular idea of healthy/happy in, healthy/happy out.
  • vienna_h
    vienna_h Posts: 428 Member
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    I'm not totally vegan, but I'm mostly vegan, only eating the minimum for protein and iron.

    But reasons why I try to minimize animal products:

    a) the environment. the planet just can't sustainable a high-meat diet for everyone.
    b) taste. I generally prefer the taste of veggies over anything else. milk, eggs, and most meats just taste gross to me. veggies are nice, crisp, flavourful, happy-tasting.
    c) animal welfare. I don't think there is anything morally wrong with eating animals, or wearing fur, as long as it is reasonable, sustainable, and not abusive. most meat production is not ethical or sustainable.
    d) health. veggies are good for you.
    e) feeling good. it feels good to eat fresh, clean, vegan meals.
  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
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    For me it was animal welfare.
    I became vegetarian when I was 10 because I didn't want any animals killed for me, but I had no idea about how cruel the dairy and eggs industries are until much later in life. After I found out that male chicks are ground alive because they're useless to the egg industry I never looked back.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
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    For me its my love for cows and chickens . see when I was a kid "cow and chicken" was my favourite show . I couldn't help but think that every time I ate a piece of beef or chicken I killed an animal just like the cartoon character .

    So one cold sunday afternoon I decided to never eat meat that resembles my favourite cartoon characters

    Love you cow and chicken
  • Shedding4Wedding2014
    Shedding4Wedding2014 Posts: 93
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    I love animals

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